Leon A. Kappelman, Ph.D. is a research scientist, teacher, author, speaker, and consultant dedicated to helping organizations better manage their information, human, and technology assets. He is Director Emeritus of the Information Systems Research Center and a Professor of Information Systems in and Chair of the Information Technology & Decision Sciences Department of the College of Business at the University of North Texas. Dr. Kappelman is Primary Investigator of the Society for Information Management's (SIM) IT Trends Study and founding chair of the SIM Enterprise Architecture Working Group. He has assisted many public and private organizations with technology management activities including strategic planning, governance, software development, project management, enterprise architecture, continuity of operations, and IT workforce management. He has given presentations and written articles on these and other IT management topics, and testified before the US Congress on technology legislation and IT management practices. He has lectured and conducted seminars and workshops on many management, business, and technology topics in North America, Europe, and Asia. His work has been reported in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Business Week, Newsweek, Dallas Morning News, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, L.A. Times, and scores of other newspapers and magazines; he has appeared on CNN, CNBC, PBS, ABC World News Tonight, as well as numerous other television and radio stations. He brought over $2.5 million in research funding to the university.

Dr. Kappelman’s professional expertise centers on the management of information and technology and includes enterprise architecture, software project management, software development and maintenance, continuity of operations and emergency management, management of change, performance measurement including metrics development, IT-related legal and ethical issues including intellectual property matters, and high-tech and public policy concerns like privacy, security, and software quality. He has worked with organizations involved in banking, insurance, aerospace, defense, health care, education, telecommunications, retail, all levels of government, not-for-profits, sales, marketing, distribution, electric utility, petrochemicals, as well as other economic sectors. Some of the enterprises he has worked with include ACS (now Xerox) ; Alcatel; Ameritech; Candle Corporation (now IBM); Celanese; Choctow Nation of Oklahoma, CIA; CIGNA; City of Denton Texas; City of Los Angeles; Coca-Cola Company; Computer Associates (now CA); Department of Veteran Affairs; EDS (now HPE); Executive Office of the President of the United States (AKA, the "White House"); Experian; GTE (now Verison); HoneyBaked Ham; Honor Technologies; IBM; JCPenney; Kraft Foods; LDS Church; LL Bean; McDermott; Milliken & Company; Pacific Bell; Pacific Medical Clinics; President’s Council on the Year 2000 Conversion; Prudential; SAIC; State of Oklahoma; State of Texas; Texaco; Texas Health Resources, Treasury Department of Canada; United Nations; Wells Fargo; World Bank; and others. Professor Kappelman’s pro bono work includes testifying on high-tech issues several times before the US Congress, speaking at a United Nations IT conference, participating in White House industry round tables, serving on the American Heart Association’s IT Expert Panel, editing five books, founding and leading the SIM Enterprise Architecture Working Group and the SIM Year 2000 Working Group, and founding and serving as a member of the three-person steering committee of the US, UN, and World Bank sponsored Y2K Expert Service Volunteer Corps.

Professor Kappelman has published several books, over 125 articles, and his works have appeared in the Communications of the ACM, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Decision Sciences, IEEE Software, Project Management Journal, InformationWeek, Computerworld, National Productivity Review, Industrial Management, and other venues. He authored Information Systems for Managers (McGraw-Hill, 1993); edited the SIM Guide to Enterprise Architecture (CRC Press, 2010) and Year 2000 Problem: Strategies and Solutions from the Fortune 100 (International Thomson Press, 1997); and co-edited Y2K Endgame Strategies: Risk Management, Testing, and Contingency Planning (SIM International, 1999), Year 2000 Update: Key Issues and Research Reports (SIM International, 1998), and Solving the Year 2000 Computer Date Problem: A Guide and Resource Directory (SIM International, 1996).

Professor Kappelman can be reached at kapp@unt.edu or by telephone at 940.565.4698.

Academic Interests:

I am a research scientist, educator, and advisor. Specifically I am an expert in information systems (IS) management practices and capabilities, software development methods and capabilities, software project management, enterprise and technology architectures, and IS performance measurement. My work for the past three decades focuses on managing, designing, building, implementing, and operating information systems (IS) in organizations of all kinds. I’ve researched, written, lectured, and advised on these and other IS-related topics, had over 100 articles published, edited five books and wrote one. I founded and chaired several industry working groups and serve as primary investigator of the longest-lived annual survey of IS professionals -- The Society for Information Management’s (SIM) IT Trends Study. I’ve advised many organizations in matters related to IS management, including: AT&T; Celanese; Choctaw Nation, CIA; CIGNA; Department of Veteran Affairs; Executive Office of the President of the USA; Experian; HoneyBaked Ham; Los Angeles; Oklahoma; Texas; Treasury Department of Canada; United Nations; Verizon; Veterans Health Administration; Wells Fargo; and World Bank. I also testified before and written reports for committees of the US Congress regarding IS-related legislation and government IS practices.